Jamie Munguia will never be an elite defender, does he need to sharpen his defense a bit? Absolutely. But one thing’s for sure, he’s going to give us nothing but exciting fights in the next decade. Viva to that! #Boxing

Smith's tricky right hand and jab may have won him some early rounds. However, Munguia's power and relentless attack resulted in a sixth-round knockdown and the easy victory. Smith showed notable toughness. He'd been stopped by Canelo Alvarez in the ninth round of their 2016 scrap, Smith's only previous loss.

He'd won three straight before running into Munguia on Saturday. The challenger's lack of power was his biggest issue. He seemed to land almost at will early, but he couldn't do much damage or slow down the champion.

Munguia showed some gaps in his game, especially on defense. He'd blown through Sadam Ali when he won the title in his last fight. Ali was unable to expose any of Munguia's defensive issues because he was so severely undersized. Smith was stronger and had a decent gameplan, but the heaviness of Munguia's punches–especially to the body–changed the identity of the fight.

Jaime Munguia, left, of Mexico, follows through on a left to Liam Smith, of England, in the WBO junior middleweight title boxing bout Saturday, July 21, 2018, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

After the bout, Munguia admitted he was still green and had things to learn but still felt good about his performance. Smith didn't want to disparage the young fighter, but he made it clear, he thought Canelo was the superior opponent in every way. Munguia is just 21, so there is room for growth, but you'd have to wonder how he'd perform against the likes of Jarret Hurd or either of the Charlo twins.

It's probably smart for Munguia and his team to add some experience before taking that walk. Munguia took home a purse of $200,000 while Smith made $75,000 in a losing effort.